Just after the full Senate voted to approve the nominations of Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Pai to the FCC, the Senate Commerce Committee under Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) has scheduled a hearing to check on what the Commission is up to.
The hearing is simply titled, “Oversight of the Federal Communications Commission,” and it’s on the schedule for Wednesday 5/16/12 at 2:30PM.
While the composition of the witness panel has not yet been revealed, it is traditional that an FCC oversight hearing include the presence of all sitting commissioners. That will give Rosenworcel and Pai the opportunity to make a triumphant return before the same committee that enthusiastically recommended them to their colleagues in the full body, only to run afoul of disgruntled Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who delayed the vote on their nominations for months.
RBR-TVBR observation: While hearings in both Congressional Commerce Committees are invariably cordial, one cannot help but notice a difference in approach between the Senate and the House.
In the House, the ruling Republican Party is generally interested in preventing the FCC from doing much of anything. In the Senate, the ruling Democratic Party is generally interested in the FCC doing much more.
And so it goes.
